In this Book
- The Monastery Rules: Buddhist Monastic Organization in Pre-Modern Tibet
- Book
- 2018
- Published by: University of California Press
- Series: South Asia Across the Disciplines
-
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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The Monastery Rules discusses the position of the monasteries in pre-1950s Tibetan Buddhist societies and how that position was informed by the far-reaching relationship of monastic Buddhism with Tibetan society, economy, law, and culture. Jansen focuses her study on monastic guidelines, or bca’ yig. The first study of its kind to examine the genre in detail, the book contains an exploration of its parallels in other Buddhist cultures, its connection to the Vinaya, and its value as socio-historical source-material. The guidelines are witness to certain socio-economic changes, while also containing rules that aim to change the monastery in order to preserve it. Jansen argues that the monastic institutions’ influence on society was maintained not merely due to prevailing power-relations, but also because of certain deep-rooted Buddhist beliefs.
The Monastery Rules discusses the position of the monasteries in pre-1950s Tibetan Buddhist societies and how that position was informed by the far-reaching relationship of monastic Buddhism with Tibetan society, economy, law, and culture. Jansen focuses her study on monastic guidelines, or bca’ yig. The first study of its kind to examine the genre in detail, the book contains an exploration of its parallels in other Buddhist cultures, its connection to the Vinaya, and its value as socio-historical source-material. The guidelines are witness to certain socio-economic changes, while also containing rules that aim to change the monastery in order to preserve it. Jansen argues that the monastic institutions’ influence on society was maintained not merely due to prevailing power-relations, but also because of certain deep-rooted Buddhist beliefs.
Table of Contents


- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-x
- Introduction
- pp. 1-13
- 3. Entrance to the Monastery
- pp. 44-56
- 4. Monastic Organization
- pp. 57-84
- 5. Monastic Economy and Policy
- pp. 85-114
- 8. Maintaining (the) Order: Conclusions
- pp. 176-182
Additional Information
ISBN
9780520969537
Related ISBN(s)
9780520297005
MARC Record
OCLC
1043049817
Pages
309
Launched on MUSE
2019-02-24
Language
English
Open Access
Yes
Creative Commons
CC-BY